I thought one of the most cited reasons for dealing Freddy Garcia was to create room for Brandon McCarthy in the rotation. Now that they dealt him to Texas for John Danks and some spare parts (after unsuccessfully shopping around Jon Garland) it seems rather confusing. What's the main reason for these moves -- cap flexibility a few years down the road? Because McCarthy wasn't costing them too much in the present.

Comments....

I was shocked a seeing the trade, but the White Sox do have a number of young arms who are in the higher minors. But, I don't think Guillen is the type of manager to hand a rotation with two or three rookies in it. Posted by jarnold at 12/25/2006 4:12:00 PM

Being a Sox fan, I have to believe this stems from KW's belief that B-Mac is no better than a #3 starter and that Danks is a superior talent. I am not sure whether I agree with this, but if Danks and Gio pan out, that is a formidable 1-2 lefty punch near the top of a rotation in 2008-2009. Not sure that we are in decent shape in 2007 though, but another move could be up the sleeve.Posted by slayer999 at 12/25/2006 5:09:00 PM

It is a bit of a head scratcher...B-Mac has proven himself able to pitch in the majors while Danks has not...you're right, the Sox must believe Danks is #1-2 material. Only time will tell.Posted by cdgarosi at 12/26/2006 5:51:00 AM

If Danks was #1-2 material wouldn't you think Texas would just keep him? They're 1 of the top pitching starved teams in the league and I'm equally confused on both sides of this trade. I really don't understand why Texas would trade a prospect for McCarthy-- he isn't that dominating of a pitcher, nor will he be. Especially since some believe that Danks is just as good or better. Posted by schwang2u at 12/26/2006 11:32:00 PM

On the other side, the White Sox told a few teams that McCarthy wasn't available in the past, and the dealing of Garcia was his chance to move into the starting rotation. Now all of a sudden he's dealt to Texas? The Sox have to believe Danks has the brighter upside, I just don't see any other reason for them to make this move. Posted by schwang2u at 12/26/2006 11:41:00 PM

Maybe they're just stockpiling lefties to combat Hafner and Morneau? But that would be too short-sighted, right...Posted by bscwik at 12/27/2006 10:08:00 AM

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